1. Field
Aspects of the present invention generally relate to a mobile information terminal for browsing, for example, patient information, a control method thereof, a storage medium, and an information security technique when the patient information is browsed outside of a hospital.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a medical field, such as a hospital, computerization of a medical record recording a patient's condition or a treatment process has progressed, and uniform management and sharing of patient information have been achieved.
The patient information in the computerized medical record can be copied to a mobile information terminal to be taken out, and is used for browsing the patient information at the patient's home when making a house visit.
On the other hand, the computerized medical record can be processed by a computer, and a risk of information leakage and alteration due to copying or exchanging in a network is higher than in the case of using a paper medical record. The patient information in a medical record needed by a doctor for medical examination includes highly confidential personal information on a disease condition or the like. Thus, with the computerization of the medical record, stronger protection of the patient information is necessary.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-136054 discusses a method for limiting taking out of the computerized patient information to the outside of the hospital where security is low. According to this method, permission information for transferring medical information to a mobile information terminal is set, and only permitted information can be transferred to the mobile information terminal, thereby suppressing careless taking-out.
According to the technique discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-136054, the risk of information leakage is reduced by limiting transferrable information at a transfer stage to the mobile information terminal.
However, no consideration is given to information security after the transfer of information to the mobile information terminal. When patient information is transferred to the mobile information terminal at the hospital, and then the mobile information terminal is brought out for a house visit, it is difficult to prevent leakage of the patient information caused by a terminal user's mistake, such as a loss of the terminal or peeping, on the way of the house visit.